THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE KENYA FILM INDUSTRY BY ESTHER N. NGUMA UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY-AFRICA SUMMER, 2015 THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE KENYA FILM INDUSTRY BY ESTHER N. NGUMA A Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY-AFRICA SUMMER, 2015 STUDENT’S DECLARATION I, the undersigned, declare that this project is my original work and has not been submitted to any other college, institution or university other than the United States International University in Nairobi for academic credit. Signed: _________________________________ Date: _____________________ Esther Nguma (Student ID: 639858) This proposal has been presented for examination with my approval as the appointed supervisor. Signed: _________________________________ Date: _____________________ Dr. George Achoki Signed: _________________________________ Date: _____________________ Dean, Chandaria School of Business ii COPYRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this research project may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author. ©Copyright Esther N. Nguma, 2015 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge my Supervisor, Dr. George Achoki for his continued guidance and intellectual support throughout the undertaking of this research, may God bless him immeasurably. I also owe an appreciation to the various Film producers of the 30 Film Production Houses that granted me the permission to collect data. I am grateful to my father – Humphrey Nguma and mother - Lucy Nguma for being my backbone during the process. I would also like to thank all my friends and classmates for their relentless support and encouragement throughout the research project. I wish to acknowledge everyone who played a role in one way or another towards the completion of this work. iv ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to identity the strategies for revitalizing the film industry in Kenya. The study was guided by the following questions-What is the kind of environment that the Film Industry operates in? What are the factors that affect the Film Industry? And in what ways can the factors be used to better the Film Industry. The study adopted a descriptive research design in studying the targeted population of Film makers. The population under study comprised of 30 producers of various film production houses. The study adopted random sampling technique to determine the sample population size. The data was collected using questionnaires. It was then edited and analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software using descriptive statistics indexes such as mean, percentages and frequency distribution method. The data was presented in the form of tables and figures according to the research questions. On the first research question on the kind of environment that the Kenyan Film Producers operate in, the study found out that the film environment has not been conducive for filmmakers in Kenya due to tight government controls, tedious film requirements, unprecedented amount of foreign programmes, low quality of film and financial rewards. On the second research question, there were various factors that affected the film industry in the country. This was attributed to expensive equipments, heavy investments in film production, lack of training and proper film commissioning, lack of exhibition and distribution opportunities and poor communication network that inhibited film success in the country. On the third research question in relation to proactive action for the film industry to be made better, producers should be more creative, high quality film crew, more entertaining and less political films, formation of guild, workshops for intensive youth training, look for corporate sponsors, sharing of financial burdens and matching the audience expectations. The major conclusion on the first research question on the kind of environment that the Kenyan Film Producers operate in indicate that the most pressing issue was on the productions companies not reflecting the Kenyan culture and the least pressing matter was on the unprecedented amount the second research question on the factors that affect the film industry the country, the study concludes that the most pressing issue in v affecting the film industry was on the lack of proper film commissioning procedures and production departments and the least pressing matter preventing the film industry was on the expense to produce the film, lack of studio systems in place, electrification in watching television, poor communication network and transport. In regard to the third research for the film industry to better local productions, the study concludes that the most proactive action in promotion of local films production should workshops for providing intensive training for youth to develop their film skills an least activity that required proactive action were on the key characters, plot of the film as one of way to gauge the quality of Kenyan film. The study recommended that the government should not impose tight controls in the Kenyan film industry. Producers should be creative story telling in the Kenyan film industry to make them more appealing to the audience. The key characters, plot of the film were one of the ways to gauge the quality of Kenyan films. The quality actors, directors, cinematographers, sound technicians are paramount in bringing the story to the screen. The directors should make films that are more entertaining and less political in nature. The Kenyan film crew should form a guild for writers, actors, and directors. Film workshops should provide intensive training for youth to develop their skills. Producers should look for corporate sponsors to support the film and form co-production partners to share the film financial burdens. The film industry should know the audience to match their expectations. The researcher suggests further research on evaluation of the determinants of film success in Hollywood, Nollywood and Bollywood. In addition, future researchers can look at the role of film crew such as actors, directors, cinematographers, sound technicians in determining the success or failure of the Kenyan film industry. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS STUDENT’S DECLARATION ........................................................................................ ii COPYRIGHT ....................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ...............................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ xiv CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................ 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 6 1.1 Background of the Problem ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................... 4 1.3 Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................... 5 1.6 Scope of the Study ......................................................................................................... 6 1.7 Definition of Terms........................................................................................................ 6 1.8 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................... 8 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 The Environment in which the Film Industry Operates ................................................. 8 2.3 Factors that Affect the Film Industry ........................................................................... 11 2.4 Ways to Better the Kenya Film Industry ..................................................................... 15 2.5 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................